Decorating with Sports Memorabilia

by Maxine Carter-Lome
Everyone knows sports fans are passionate about their players and teams. They proudly communicate where their loyalties lie through their clothing, the bumper stickers on their car, and the items they display in their home, office, and man cave.

 
Diehard sports fans, collectors, and enthusiasts alike can’t resist buying, saving, and sharing physical reminders of the games they’ve seen, teams they follow, and the athletes they idolize. Serious collectors often spend serious money to own everything from game-worn and played jerseys and equipment to player contracts, mint-condition player cards, and rare autographs; while the everyday fan is just as proud of their collection of ticket stubs, game programs, game day giveaways, player cards, photos, and autographs marking a lifetime of sports memories.
What do fans do with all that stuff personally collected and saved over a lifetime, and those special items you purchased on the Internet or at auction just because you could? Follow the current design trend – use them to decorate a wall, space, or room in your home or office.
According to design experts cited in the numerous articles I found on the internet when searching “decorating with sports memorabilia,” the trick to decorating and living with your sports memorabilia has everything to do with framing, which can turn a game jersey or cluster of ticket stubs into a work of art for presentation. For those objects too unwieldy or numerous for the wall space you have to work with, limitless display options—including display furniture and cases—are available to turn a collection of objects into a curated presentation. The opportunities are endless and so is the advice, but if you are a collector of anything, the curatorial aspects of representing and presenting your collection for it to be enjoyed by you and others is second nature.

Here are some decorating tips to consider to help others you live with, live with your sports collectibles on display:

• Rather than having your sports memorabilia on display throughout the house, consolidate the collections in one or two spaces. Displaying the items together in one area makes much more of an impact than spreading the pieces around.
• Consider the size and location in your home or office for the display of your sports memorabilia (or any collection for that matter) so you know what you have to work with and what’s around it.
• Have a vision for what you would like to see in the space and prioritize what you would like to display. Then go online and Google do a search for “display cabinets” and “display furniture” for ideas on what you can buy or build to showcase your items in the space provided. Sites such as Pinterest are full of inspirational ideas.
• Analyze the amount of space you have to work with, then edit the number of items you wish to display. Rather than putting everything out on display, choose items with the greatest personal meaning so you can enjoy them every time you walk in the room.
• Consider seasonal rotations so other items see the light of day and you get the pleasure of going through everything again and thinking of new groupings and exhibitions.
• Create a gallery wall of framed photos, posters, or objects using different shapes, textures, and colors to keep the space interesting and call attention to each object. If it’s going up on a wall in your home or office spend the money to get it professionally mounted and framed.
• Lighting is critical. It can enhance your display or take away from it. Give your space more of an exhibition-like quality. Direct light (or sunlight for that matter) may not always be a friend to some of your photos and objects and should be taken into consideration when hanging and lighting.

It is possible to decorate with sports memorabilia without turning your space into a clubhouse or museum. The fun is in acquiring, curating, and living with the objects we love and sharing them with others.

Decorating with Sports Memorabilia